Charity Starts at a Nursing Home
by Vikki3775
Summary: "Alex Risotto sighed and shook her head, walking towards the seventy-five year old couple. To say she's a little worn out is an understatement. It's only been a month since she's been put in charge of this "special" couple, and she can only say so many adjectives to describe what she's experienced so far." This is for Cory. One-shot.


**Yesterday about three years ago marks the time an amazing gifted man left this Earth to be with the angels. I'm sure he is looking down in us smiling or cracking some funny/corny joke that would easily get us laughing if he were here with us and I know that somehow along with his death, a reincarnation happens and one beautiful soul will be gifted with the same wonderful qualities Cory once had, if not all. We miss you Cory. 1982-2013. #3yearswithoutcory**

 **Hey guys! Just a one shot for you all! This has been in my head for days and I finally found a way to write this out. I hope you guys enjoy!**

 **~Vikki3775**

* * *

"Ugh, what is that?! Rice pudding, or something? Yuck!"

"I don't know, honey. But you're not eating any more of their cheeseburgers, that's for sure. It's loaded with sodium and your blood pressure is through the roof. Let me just find out what this is. Alex!" From across the cafeteria, Alex Risotto sighed and shook her head, walking towards the seventy-five year old couple. To say she's a little worn out is an understatement. It's only been a month since she's been put in charge of this _"special"_ couple, and she can only say so many adjectives to describe what she's experienced so far. Sucking it up, she smiled tensely at them.

"Yes, Mrs. Hudson?"

"Honey, do you happen to know what this is?" The short woman shoved the saucy consistency in the young adult's face with disgust. "I don't know what it is, and my husband seems to find it extremely-"

"Unedible." Her husband finished with a frown, making his forehead lines more visible. Rachel pulled a strand of her grey hair behind her ear and turned towards him.

"Sweetie, it's _inedible_."

He stared at her blankly, "Does it change the fact that it tastes like...like _crap?!_ "

Alex chuckled lightly, "I'm sorry, Mr. Hudson. I know, it tastes like crap. If I could get you a deluxe healthy feast, I would."

The man folded his arms from his seat and mumbled grudgingly, "l should've just gotten Chinese."

Unfortunately, his wife heard him, "And have a stroke due to all the MSG?! Better yet, a heart attack, because I'd just love to see my husband of fifty five years die right before my very eyes!" The cafeteria grew silent as her voice grew louder. Standing up from her seat, she huffed before slowly and surely storming out of the room. Finn sighed and itched his grey head. Alex grabbed a seat and sat in front of him.

"You know she just cares about you, Mr. Hudson," she said softly. He nodded slowly.

"I know. I just wished she wouldn't worry so much. I can take care of myself." When she gave him a look, he relented, "Okay, okay, I can't completely take care of myself, but...I'm somewhat okay. I can watch what I eat."

Alex nodded slowly at the man and tried her best to hide the smirk that was pushing through. She has sympathy for him, she really does...just not the same amount he thinks she has. Let's just say she got quite a bit of information from his wife one day when she volunteered to do her nails.

 _"So when did this habit start? You know, him eating bad." Alex smiled when Rachel giggled and covered her mouth with her frail, newly nail polished hand._

 _"He's always been hungry like that. But I think it really got bad when we got pregnant with our first two children Chris and Ava. They were twins, so you can only imagine what I had to go through."_

 _She looked up from the woman's petite hand mid-coat and gaped at her. "You had twins?! You're so-so-"_

 _"Small?" Rachel nodded and giggled, "Yep. I converted back to eating meat since I wasn't getting the nutrients I needed from vegan food. And what killed me the most is that I actually liked it! I've never liked meat in my life. But it was Finn's damned genes!" Both women laughed as the seventy-five year old continued her story._

 _"You've heard about pregnant women and their midnight cravings, right?" She nodded. "Well, I don't know how this happened but by the middle of my pregnancy, Finn was eating up twice the amount that I was, on a hungry day! I swear, I don't know how we afforded our apartment in Manhattan with the grocery costs going through the roof." They giggled together as Alex finished up with her nails._

 _"Has he ever, you know, slowed down?" She sighed and nodded her grey head, a small wrinkly smile curling at the lips._

 _"Yeah. I think it was when Chris and Ava were two and we took them to the beach and he didn't feel comfortable taking his shirt off that he finally realized he needed to stop." Mrs. Hudson leaned in eagerly. "Honey, we tried Weight Watchers, multiple gym memberships, Jenny Craig. There was actually one time where it got so bad, I threatened to sight him up for the show The Biggest Loser!" The lady laughed so hard she almost snorted. After a minute of her cackling, she realized Alex wasn't doing the same. Realization suddenly adorned her face. "Oh, honey you don't know what that is do you?"_

 _"Oh, I do!" She corrected. "My mom used to watch it. I just don't know that much about the show." And as if what she said were a call out for help, the retired Broadway star continued to explain the old show for another twenty- five minutes, boring the twenty-seven year old more and more every minute._

 ****Alex shook her head to void the memory before focusing on the sad man in front of her. "Well, maybe you should try showing her that?" She offered. "I mean, maybe that's what she's looking for; proof that you can take care of yourself."

Hudson grinned lopsidedly and waved his hand, "Oh, trust me, sweetie. She _likes s_ taking care of me. See, if you haven't noticed, she tends to like to be in control of things." Alice giggled.

"And storm outs?"

Finn nodded and chuckled. "And storm outs." It was silent for a moment and the woman watched as the man across from her's tired eyes filled with sadness.

"It's just...she doesn't want me to die...to leave her here. And I know it, even though she never tells me."

"And you know it because you've known her for so long." Alex states more than questions.

"Yeah," he agrees. "It's just something I was always able to do. We have a...wh-what's it called, a t-te-"

" _Tether_?"

He looked at her questioningly. "You know about that?"

The young woman smiled. "She talks about that every time I hang with her. She really loves you, you know."

Finn grins and nods. "I know." A moment of silence fills the air again before Alex perks up. "Hey, Mr. Hudson, you said you want to prove your wife wrong, right?" He just frowned at her.

"Huh?" She giggled.

"You want to prove to your wife that you can take care of your health."

"Yeah."

She smiled. "Well, why don't I help you! I'm supposed to watch over you both under strict orders anyways, and you obviously can't do this on your own."

He starts to protest, "Y-Yes I ca-"

"Mr. Hudson." He sighed and slumped his shoulders.

"Fine, I can't." She smiled at him and stood up from her seat. She took her hand out, offering a shake.

"We'll start tomorrow, Mr. Hudson. Deal?" He grinned lopsidedly and shook her hand, the gentle shake overriding his dry, calloused hand. Just as she turned around she was interrupted.

"Oh, and Alex?" With a small amused grin, she slowly turned back around.

"Yes?"

He sighed and shook his head. "Honey, please call me by my first name. Mr. Hudson makes me so much more older than I already am." Alex giggled at his goofiness and nodded.

"Sure thing, Finn."

* * *

It's funny how much your interests and frequent activities can change over time. For example, his passion for drumming? Total waste of time now that he has mild arthritis in his left hand. But there are also some interests that have never changed, like football and singing (though he'd never tell his nursing home buddies about the second one). Although all of those activities gladly take up his time, nothing by far compares to...

 _...a nice big steak._

With garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli (though it always seems overcooked in his opinion).

But this steak isn't just any steak. It's _the_ steak.

Medium rare meaty goodness smothered in its juicy juiciness with light seasoning that can just make your mouth water.

He's pretty sure the others can hear his whimpering by now.

"Hey." With a slight jump, Finn turned his head towards the voice behind him, relaxing when he saw it was just Alex.

"Hey," was his dejected response. Walking in her scrubs, she kneeled in front of him, blocking his view of the delicious food being prepared by the five-star cooks.

"I know you're looking at the food, Finn. You don't have to hide it from me."

"I wasn't," he denies. Finn pouted his dry lips, "Can't I just have a _little_ piece of steak? Ju-Just a small sliver..." His sentence wavered off when he saw the expression on her face and he sighed.

Feeling like he needed company, the twenty-seven year old pulled out a chair and sat next to him. She looked around the cafeteria.

"Hey, where's Rachel?"

"Rach is at some karaoke outing with some of her friends for dinner tonight. She goes to those because she feel as if her "vocal chords are shriveling up like her social life". Like, I don't even know why my wife goes to those competitions. She always ends up winning."

"Well, maybe she's just trying to find something to keep her occupied. You know, something you should try."

"I have been trying," he says. "They play bingo every Thursday and I always end up losing because the old punk Jefferson wipes half of my chips off a soon as I turn my head." Finn turned his head to leer at the blond sixty year old that was happily digging into his steak with a smirk on his face.

Alex giggles and shakes her head. "No, I mean, maybe you should try something to keep you physically active, like I don't know...going to the gym."

"With what membership?" He asks. "They barely let Rachel and her friends leave this afternoon in fear of them escaping or something. And the only gym we have indoors is the rehabilitation gym that's for healing patients who've had surgery."

That is when she grinned coyly. "Well, I may have pulled some strings with the physical therapists on the second floor and scored you free time in the gym to exercise."

Finn frowned and croaked out, "How'd you do that?"

She bit her lip and drawled, "Well..."

 _"How many times to I have to tell you, I am not letting Mr. Hudson into the fitness center. He isn't even disabled!" Sam Serino cowered slightly at the menacing glare sent his way from Alex as she leaned in closer._

 _"I don't care what he isn't allowed to do," she countered back. "I think you've forgotten what you said to me when I scored you a date with my cousin Veronica last year. 'Oh, Alex, I will do anything you want. Anything, just say the word!'" She mimicked his voice perfectly._

 _The blond gulped and fixed his glasses. "You know I did not sound like that. The date didn't even work out. You forgot to tell me she was a lesbian."_

 _"Promises have no expiration dates," she says firmly. "You want to keep your family jewels? I strongly suggest you do what I ask."_

 _He rose an eyebrow, "Is that a threat?"_

 _"It depends..." Smirking, she crossed her arms in front of him. "We have a deal?"_

"I can't believe you did that!" Finn said after she told him the story. "You could've gotten in a lot of trouble, sweetie."

She waved her hand dismissively, "Yeah, well I pretty much have a scroll full of secrets on every single one of my co-workers; some that could get them arrested...or at least fired."

"But do I have to go to the gym? I mean-"

"You want to make your wife proud, don't you, Finn?"

He looked down at his lap and said sadly, "Yes..."

"Than you have to push! And try harder to show that you were right, that you can do this on your own!"

He tilted his head and frowned on his seat. "Well, technically I'm not doing it on my own since you're helping me eat healthy in order to decrease my blood pressure-"

"Let's just pretend you thought of this all on your own, okay?" She cuts off. Finn nodded silently. "Now...I'm going to get you a nice fruit smoothie and a salad with dressing on the side for your dinner."

Finn pouted, "Can I get chicken on the salad?"

"Grilled," she added. As she started to leave she turned back around as if she new he would ask for something else. "And no, I am not adding chocolate to your smoothie." She giggled then she saw him grin lopsidedly and shrug his shoulders. She sighed, walking to the cafeteria line.

Boy will he be some work.

* * *

Alex Risotto has dealt with a lot of stubborn people. From four year old kids who just can't settle down in bed for the night, to scrawny bad-mouth teenagers who seem to want to take all of their anger out on the world. But nothing, and she means, nothing compares to the stubbornness of a seventy-five year old man with deflated physical momentum and confidence in himself.

She admits, it was hard at first. Every time she would present Finn's daily three course meals, she would prepare herself for his scrunched up nose and crinkled forehead as he ate it, and every time he would speed walk on the fitness center's treadmill with just the _slightes_ t amount of incline she would sigh and shake her head when he claimed that he _"couldn't do it"_ or felt like _"his freaking legs were about to fall off"_. But with a little help from her fellow co-workers who had a little more experience in fitness and health than she did, he ended up losing a shocking amount of pounds over the past three months, along with a wonderful rate of decrease in his daily blood pressure.

Alex could tell that Rachel noticed some changes too. Once, when she served both of them their lunch, the frail brunette's bottom jaw practically touched the ground when she saw her husband dig into a fruit salad.

"I didn't know he knew what fruit was!" She exclaimed to the nurse that day.

Things were looking up for Finn. She could tell.

So you can only guess her surprise when she stepped into work that day and heard the news.

"You didn't hear, Al?" Said Bryce, one of her fellow co-workers. "Rachel was hospitalized last night. The doctors say it was an a stroke or something."  
 _  
'No,'_ she thought to herself as her heartbeat sped up. _'No, no, no, no'._

"Is-Is she okay?" She choked out. "Wh-Where's Finn?"

He sighed as he folded some freshly washed linen in front of him. "He's with her, I guess. Mrs. Hudson's in a coma from what I hear." After a moment of her not responding, Bryce lifted his head and looked at her crestfallen expression with concern. Standing up from his seat, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You want me to take your shift?"

"Yes, please..." She whispered. Already stepping back from the man she stuttered, "I-I'll update you guys, okay?" After she saw him nod, she sprinted out of the room.

 _Just sprinted._

* * *

She found him seated in the hall of the critical wing, his head downcast with slumped shoulders. But when she actually approached him, she saw that his eyes were closed, small prayers to God escaping his dry lips.

 _It broke her heart._

She reached out a hand and touched his shoulder. "Finn?" No answer. "Finn..." She said softer. Finally he looked up at her, and the once joyful, silly hazel eyes she started to enjoy was filled with tears, rings under his eyes which only added to her suspicions that he hadn't gotten any sleep.

"Hey..." He whispered. He patted the seat next to him and she complied.

"How is she?" Alex asked after a while.

"It was a brain aneurysm," he muttered. "The doctor said we were lucky enough to catch it in the act or she would've been pronounced dead as soon as she got to the hospital." A tear slid down his wrinkled cheek. "I just-I knew I should have said something when she told me she was having bad headaches. It-it's all my fault."

She shook her head and said, "No, it's not. Brain aneurysms often don't have symptoms. Did they say how severe it was?"

"It was severe enough to put her in ICU...to put her in a coma," he spit out. Sniffling Finn shook his grey head. "This whole time...I thought _I_ would be the one in ICU with Rachel worrying." He finally turned to look at her, his bottom lip trembling as he said, "Never in my life have I thought it would be the other way around." With that, he broke and the nurse gladly pulled him into a hug as he sobbed, small tears falling down her cheeks also.

If God were to be seeing this, now would be the time for a miracle.

* * *

"Finn, come on!"

"No, I will not come on! You have to take this medicine. Doctor's orders!"

"Mom, please?" Ava Hudson walked up to her mother's bedside and softly rubbed her arm. "Doctor Urctin specifically gave you these vitamins because of how small you are."

From the corner or the room, Cory Hudson snickered, "Heh...Urctin."

 _"Cory!"_ Protested the rest of the family.

The twenty two year old sighed and shrugged as he walked to the center of the older couple's new bedroom. "Sorry, sorry. I'll stop. But you have to admit it. The dude's name _is_ sort of funny."

Finn grinned as he fed his wife another spoonful of soup. "He does have a point." Chris and Cory chuckled along with his father.

Ava rolled her eyes. It would only be her to be surrounded by a bunch of immature, childish boys, including her dad who most definitely is too old to be laughing about some doctors last name. From the front of the house she heard the door ring and she gladly made her way out of the room to answer it.

She was surprised to see a pretty woman with green eyes who looked around her mid twenties.

"Hi." She greeted. The girl across from her gave Ava a kind smile.

"Hi, I'm-"

"Alex Riscotto?" When she received a confused expression, she giggled and elaborated. "My dad won't shut up about you. I actually thought you were his mistress or something." Both girls shared a laugh before Ava gladly let her in the small house.

To say that Alex was surprised when she heard that Finn and Rachel were moving out of the nursing home and into their own little house is an understatement. And to hear that the once popular nursing home she worked at was closing down due to an overflowing amount of elderly abuse charges knocked her socks off also (not that she didn't alrady expect this coming).

But she was happy that justice was served. Yes, she may have had to relocate to another home, but it's best for the residents living there.

She remembers when she visited Finn in the hospital like it was just yesterday. When Rachel finally woke up from her coma two weeks later, he was so overcome with joy and she couldn't help but feel happy herself. Then she remembers what he told her as they watched the older woman fall asleep that night.

 _"I need to get better," he says firmly as he ran a gentle hand through her soft grey hair. "For her. I don't care how long it takes how much work it takes. I just want to be the man she deserves. I have to take care of her."_

And they did just that. As Rachel continued to recover in the hospital they pushed and pushed to make him healthy again. And now here he was...being the strong man she always knew he was.

When she entered the homey bedroom that the older couple now calls theirs, Alex watched as Finn stopped feeding his wife and turned to her with a wide smile.

"Hey, honey, look who's here?" He spoke so softly to his wife and as soon as the small brunette set her eyes on the twenty-five year old, she beamed.

"Alex!"

"Hi, Mrs. Hudson."

The older woman started to slowly pull herself up more on the bed, with the help of her daughter and husband. "I'm so happy you came!"

"Well, how can I miss our monthly Barbara marathon?"

"Oh god, you too?" Groaned a young man from the corner of the room. Finn sent a stern glance at him before looking back at Alex.

"Sorry Alex, we forgot to introduce you to our kids. This is our daughter Ava."

The girl walked up to her and shook her hand, her smile matching her mother's. "Nice to meet you."

She smiled back. "You too."

"The one who just expressed his deep hatred for Broadway is Cory, our youngest son." Alex stared, bemused as he waltzed up to her, a sly smirk on his face that she often saw on his father.

"Nice to meet you." His brown eyes her body up and down before grinning and adding, "Veru nice indeed..." Suddenly he got whacked in the back of the hand by the third male in the room.

"Dude, tone down your horniness."

And that's when he looked at her.

She doesn't know if she should actually be creeped out at the fact that she is strongly attracted to the son of two of her patients (who pretty much looks like a carbon copy of his father ), but she couldn't help but agree with the wonderful combination of genetics that made up him.

"I'm Chris," he gave her a lop-sided grin as he reached out and shook her hand. "I apologize for my younger brother. He gets the negative parts of my parent's genes."

"Hey!"

"N-Nice to meet you..." She stuttered out. She was so entrapped by his strangely hypnotic chestnut colored eyes that she almost missed what Rachel added from her seat in bed.

"He's single, you know." Alex glanced at her as the woman took the initiative to wiggle her grey eyebrows suggestively.

"And thirty years old. You guys are like, the same age!" Finn said happily.

Rachel patted her husbands back. "She's actually twenty-seven, honey." He frowned.

"Oh."

"She finally detached her eyes from the strikingly beautiful man and set her eyes on the older couple. "I'm surprised. I thought your kids would be-"

 _"Older?"_ Everyone responded in unison.

"We had them late, honey." Rachel elaborated.

Finn nodded as his eyes widened. "Like, _really_ late."

From across from her Chris groaned and threw back his head, "Gosh, I'm tired of you guys trying to set me up with every girl you know."

At this, Alex giggled and covered her hand with her mouth. With a grin, he glanced at her.

"We're just sayin'..." The couple muttered from the bed.

"Alex, we'd really like it if you'd join us for dinner." Ava offered.

She shook her head, "Oh, but I don't want to impose-"

"Oh, you won't!" Chris responded rather hurriedly. From the corner of her eye she could see the older couple share a look. "It won't be a problem at all."

Cory scoffed as he texted on his phone. "Please. You're only saying that because you want to get her in your be-"

 _"Chris!"_

With a bemused grin, Alex relented.

"Sure," She smiled. "I would love to."

* * *

"So, I'll call you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, yeah. That's fine. That's great actually."

Chris grinned nervously as he fiddled with his jacket. "O-Okay." They just stood there at the front door of the small house staring into each other's eyes as if they'd forget what the other looks like.

"Okay, bye." With a quick nod, Chis suddenly leaned down and kissed Alex's cheek before quickly leaving the house with a soft click of the door.

Alex blushed as she turned around and walked further into the house. She honestly doesn't know how, but apparently the instant feelings she had for the the Hudson's oldest son wasn't one sided. With a planned date for Saturday and an exchange of numbers, she was set to start a relationship she hasn't had in the long time. Familiar feelings of excitement and nervousness filled her once again at the thought.

During her time knowing this couple many people have ask her the same following questions: "Why do you care about this couple so much? What's in it for you?"

Honestly, she doesn't have a exact answer. Maybe it's because it's just her job. Maybe it's because they both remind her of her late grandparents and their eternal love for each other.

"Sweetheart, do you want a blanket? Or the herbal tea that you like so much?"

"Finn, babe, I'm fine." Alex watched as Finn sat next to his wife on a swinging chair placed on their little backyard patio. A moment of silence passed over them before she spoke again.

"Did I ever tell you how proud I am of you over the past few months?" He chuckled and itched the back of his head.

"A few times, yes."

"Well, I am. Really." The retired broadway star gazed up at him adoringly. "I just wanted you to know that. I love you."

"I love you too, Rach." She wiggled a little bit and shivered, which immediately caught the attention of the man beside her.

"You cold?" He started to stand up and get her a blanket before she stopped him.

"A little, but stay. You'll be able to warm me up."

After sitting back down, he craned his neck and shared a soft kiss with her, Rachel leaning her petite head on his shoulder as they both looked out into the sunset streaming in from the view of their backyard.

From the house's back door, Alex grinned. She think she knows now, why she wanted to help Finn so much, why she rushed to help so fast when his wife Rachel got sick.

"Hey, I've got you..." The seventy-five year old man cuddled Rachel closer to him as she shivered once more.

 ** ****** ** _ **She's a sucker for eternal love stories.**_**

* * *

 **There's the one-shot guys. I know it's random and unexpected but I really wanted to do something to honor Cory; even if the anniversary of his death was yesterday.**

 **Please send me your reviews. It joys me to see what you have to say. Love you guys!**

 **~Vikki3775**


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